nickelodeonfandomcom-20200223-history
Nickelodeon GUTS
GUTS was a 30-minute "action-sports" game show which aired on Nickelodeon from 1992 to 1995. Mike O'Malley presided as host; Moira Quirk (always called Mo) was the referee. The show was taped at Nickelodeon Studios in Universal Studios Florida. Gameplay Three children or teenagers competed in four athletic events at the "Extreme Arena" for points. First place in each event was worth 300 points. Second place received 200 points and third place earned 100. Some events were based on skills in popular sports, such as basketball, football and soccer, while others made use of a wave pool (such as "Invisible Boat"), racing track ("Madd Max") or an obstacle course ("Basic Training"). During the show's run, more creative and ambitious events were invented, including a fabricated ski slope and the famous "Peak to Peak". Each event was said to allow the contestants to "live out some of their greatest sports fantasies" in a competitive arena. Between each event, one of the three players would be asked to "Spill Your GUTS". During a brief pre-recorded segment, the player would introduce himself and reveal a few athletic and non-athletic interests. During early seasons of the show, contestants also were asked what GUTS "equals" to them. The Aggro Crag A fifth event, the Aggro Crag (meaning "aggressive rock") ultimately decided the winner. All three contestants raced to climb a fabricated mountain, activating eight (originally six or seven) lighted targets (known as actuators) on their way to the peak. If the contestant missed an actuator along the way, they could not complete the climb until they returned and struck the target they missed. Each contestant had his own identical side of the mountain to climb, and was not permitted to cross into another's path (if they inadvertently did -- even by grabbing another player's hand rail -- they automatically were awarded third place points.) The climb was made more difficult with special effects that simulated lightning storms, avalanches, flying snow, "nuclear flying crystals" and steep walls. The first contestant to successfully activate each target, including the final one at the peak of the mountain, earned first-place (725) points. The second- and third-place contestants earned 550 and 375 points, respectively. The increased point structure in the event allowed contestants to come from behind to win despite earlier mistakes. It also ensured that no two contestants could achieve a tie score. However, if a contestant had placed first in each of the four events prior to the Aggro Crag, he/she would invariably become that day's winner no matter how they performed on the Aggro Crag. A perfect score was 1925 points, and was attained several times throughout the show's run. The Aggro Crag went through several revisions in the show's run, each longer and more difficult than the previous version. The mountain was later renamed the Mega Crag, and changed later yet to the Super Aggro Crag. Winning The player with the most points after all five events won the game and received a gold GUTS medal and a "glowing piece of our radical rock," a large trophy representing a piece of the Aggro Crag. As in the Olympics, second place received a silver medal and third received a bronze medal. Global Guts Towards the end of its run, GUTS became Global GUTS. The format remained the same with four athletic events and the mountain, but the contestants included kids from the United Kingdom, Mexico, Israel, Germany, Spain, Portugal, the Commonwealth of Independent States (simply referred to as "CIS" on air), and, of course, the United States. Each country had its own team of broadcasters; O'Malley continued this role for the US broadcast. At the end of each Global GUTS episode, in a manner similar to the Olympics, the flags of the contestants' countries were raised while the national anthem of the gold medal winner played in the background. Each player then took a lap around the Extreme Arena with his or her country's flag draped over their shoulders. All Reruns of "Global GUTS" has been on hiatus on NICK GAS since November 2005. Famous contestants In 1994, on the 2nd season of GUTS, the actress Ashley Drane competed on GUTS with United Kingdom residents Nicole and Leanne. Ashley went on to be a cast member of Blue Collar TV. In 1992, Backstreet Boy A.J. McLean appeared on GUTS, finishing with the silver medal. He was referred to on the show as "AJ 'Mean' McLean". Special Guests The following were guests during the 1994 season: *Picabo Street *Vadim the Dream *Adam Oates *Charlie Ward *Dominique Wilkins *Evander Holyfield Notes * Many of the events were over-the-top compared to those on previous childrens' game shows, and GUTS was often compared to American Gladiators in initial reviews. GUTS upped the ante for stunts on future Nickelodeon game shows including Legends of the Hidden Temple and Double Dare 2000. * In contrast to many sports-related game shows, GUTS was a coed competition, and almost always featured at least one member of each gender -- boys competed against girls, unlike American Gladiators, which featured males and females competing against themselves, but not each other. * Obvious during these competitions were the large number of "stunt spotters", or adults present to assist the contestants through the events. Largely, they were there to maintain safety during what was mostly a pretty safe environment to begin with. Players always wore helmets, mouth guards, elbow pads and knee pads, while most events employed elastic cords and harnesses (although those were mostly used to increase jumping ability -- hence the "fantasies"). Facemasks often were used as well. * Throughout the run, the actuators on the Aggro Crag were orange rotating lights. However, in a very early episode (possibly the pilot), the lights on the actuators were covered up and made to look like rocks themselves; these lights lit up in the color of the contestant who was climbing that section of the mountain. Also in this episode, the "Extreme Arena" graphic over the scoreboard was different, and Moira Quirk's explanation of the rules for the Aggro Crag was reworded somewhat. External links * Bigdog's Dog House Nickelodeon Guts